Simrat Dosanjh reflects on her rookie season

Blues first-year guard has been a key contributor off the bench

HELEN AIKENHEAD // FEATURES EDITOR

Over the course of this past season, the Capilano University Blues women’s basketball team has had some ups and downs. But one thing that’s never changed for the team is that they’ve consistently been putting strong numbers on the board, especially beyond the arc. Those numbers can be largely in part attributed to Simrat Dosanjh, the first-year player who’s been praised for her strong shooting ability.

The Panorama Ridge Secondary graduate has been playing competitive basketball since she was just 10 years old, giving her the experience necessary to smoothly transition to post-secondary basketball.

Dosanjh received a message from team coach Ramin Sadaghiani about the potential to join the Blues. After checking it out, Dosanjh knew the Blues was the team for her. “I found it to be my best option, school wise and basketball wise,” she said. “I knew the team was good, and I knew that they had a shot at winning provincials. And I thought I’d get quite a bit of playtime. So that’s what brought me to Cap.”

In regards to school, Dosanjh has been enjoying the challenge of the CapU Human Kinetics program, managing to maintain an impressive GPA on top of her dedication to her team. Clearly, Dosanjh’s work ethic extends beyond the court. “I’m thinking of going into physio or maybe med school, but it’s all kind of up in the air right now.”

Basketball wise, upon joining the team, Dosanjh’s expectations were met. Throughout the season, the first-year guard has received a solid amount of playtime and now finds herself the proud owner of a gold from the 2018 Pacific Western Athletic Association (PACWEST) provincials. With her first season complete, Dosanjh was able to reflect on her first varsity year, and look forward to her second.

“It definitely lived up,” she said, recalling the season and how easy it was to adjust to the new team. “Everyone on the team was very skilled. It was kind of intimidating at first, just because everyone was so good… [but] it was easy [to adjust]. Our seniors on our team are very supportive and welcoming. Plus, I had three other rookies with me, so I had other people I could relate to.”

That senior heavy team landscape, however, will soon be changing. “We’re going to be a lot younger [next year] with three fifth-years graduating. So, we’ll be a lot younger. But I’m definitely coming back.”

Her return to the roster will prove as an asset to it’s new young face. With just one year to her name, Dosanjh is already thinking like a senior player. With the kind of thoughtful reflection on past performance that’s vital to the longevity and execution of winning plays, her offering to the team goes far beyond her shooting ability. Dosanjh took a moment to reflect before heading into last week’s finals.

“We didn’t end the season on a great note, losing two games to Douglas… I just think we got in our heads. I know in previous years we’ve lost big games to Douglas, so I think it was just a mental thing for us.” But, she knew what the team needed to do.

“I think if we play the way we were taught to play, and the way we usually play, we’ll be fine… just execute what our coaches have told us and try not to get in our heads, and just play basketball.” And that they did. After winning the PACWEST provincials this past weekend, the team solidified their claim to the top of the conference, an experience Dosanjh won’t forget.